postdoc-checkin

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Postdoc Weekly Check-in Template

Name: [Your Name] Date: [YYYY-MM-DD] Week of: [Start date of week] Meeting with: [PI/Supervisor name]

Research Progress

Independent Research Projects

Project 1: [Project name]

  • Progress: [Key accomplishments this week]
  • Challenges: [Any roadblocks or issues]
  • Next Steps: [Planned activities for next week]
  • Timeline: [On track/ahead/behind schedule]

Project 2: [Project name]

  • Progress: [Key accomplishments this week]
  • Challenges: [Any roadblocks or issues]
  • Next Steps: [Planned activities for next week]
  • Timeline: [On track/ahead/behind schedule]

Collaborative Projects

Lab Project 1: [Project name and your role]

  • Contributions: [What you contributed this week]
  • Coordination: [Team interactions and decisions]
  • Support Provided: [Help given to team members]

External Collaborations: [If any]

  • Activities: [Meetings, work completed, communications]
  • Progress: [Status of collaborative work]

Research Outputs and Dissemination

Publications

Papers in Progress:

  • [Paper 1]: [Current status, next steps, target timeline]
  • [Paper 2]: [Current status, next steps, target timeline]

Submissions and Reviews:

  • [Journal/Conference]: [Status of submission or review]
  • [Review work]: [Papers reviewed, editorial activities]

Presentations and Conferences

Upcoming Presentations:

  • [Conference/Event]: [Preparation status, travel plans]

Conference Planning:

  • [Any conferences you're organizing or contributing to]

Grant Writing and Funding

Active Proposals:

  • [Grant/Fellowship]: [Status, deadlines, next steps]

Funding Applications:

  • [Opportunities being pursued]

Mentoring and Leadership

Student Supervision

Graduate Students:

  • [Student name]: [Progress, meetings held, guidance provided]
  • [Student name]: [Progress, meetings held, guidance provided]

Undergraduate Researchers:

  • [Student name]: [Progress, supervision activities]
  • [Student name]: [Progress, supervision activities]

Lab Leadership Activities

  • [Committee work, lab organization, process improvements]
  • [Contributions to lab culture and operations]

External Service

  • [Review work, committee service, editorial activities]
  • [Professional organization involvement]

Professional Development

Skill Development

Technical Skills: [New methods, tools, or techniques learned/practiced]

Leadership Skills: [Management, communication, or strategic skills developed]

Career-Relevant Skills: [Skills aligned with your career goals]

Networking and Relationships

New Connections: [Professional relationships developed or strengthened]

Collaboration Opportunities: [New partnerships or collaboration discussions]

Career Planning Activities

Job Market Preparation (if applicable): [Application materials, job talks, interview preparation]

Industry Engagement (if applicable): [Industry connections, consulting, commercialization activities]

Academic Career Development: [Teaching experience, service opportunities, visibility building]

Challenges and Support Needs

Research Challenges

Technical Issues:

  • [Challenge]: [Impact and potential solutions]
  • [Challenge]: [Impact and potential solutions]

Resource Needs:

  • [Equipment, software, data access needs]
  • [Personnel or collaboration needs]

Timeline/Scope Issues:

  • [Project delays, scope changes, competing priorities]

Professional Development Needs

Skill Gaps: [Areas where you need additional training or support]

Career Guidance: [Strategic decisions or career planning support needed]

Networking Support: [Introductions or connections that would be helpful]

Strategic Planning

Short-term Goals (Next Month)

  1. [Research goal]
  2. [Professional development goal]
  3. [Collaboration/service goal]

Medium-term Goals (Next Quarter)

  1. [Major research milestone]
  2. [Publication or presentation goal]
  3. [Career development milestone]

Long-term Vision (Next Year)

[How current activities align with annual goals and career trajectory]

Resource Planning

Budget Needs: [Travel, equipment, personnel] Time Allocation: [How you're balancing different responsibilities] Priority Adjustments: [Any changes to focus or priorities]

Lab and Community Contributions

Lab Culture and Operations

[How you contributed to lab culture, processes, or community this week]

Knowledge Sharing

[Expertise shared with lab members, training provided, documentation created]

External Representation

[How you represented the lab externally - conferences, meetings, collaborations]

Metrics and Productivity

Research Productivity

  • Papers worked on: [Number]
  • Code/analysis progress: [Specific accomplishments]
  • Data collected/processed: [Amount]
  • Experiments conducted: [Number/type]

Collaboration Metrics

  • Student meetings: [Number and quality]
  • Team meetings: [Number and contributions]
  • External meetings: [Number and outcomes]

Professional Activities

  • Reviews completed: [Number]
  • Presentations given: [Number]
  • Proposals submitted: [Number]

Reflection and Learning

What Worked Well This Week?

[Successful strategies, effective approaches, positive outcomes]

What Could Be Improved?

[Areas for improvement, lessons learned, adjustments needed]

Key Insights or Breakthroughs

[Important discoveries, realizations, or connections made]

Process Improvements

[Ways to improve efficiency, effectiveness, or quality]

Looking Ahead

Next Week's Priorities

  1. [Top priority for next week]
  2. [Second priority]
  3. [Third priority]

Upcoming Deadlines

[Important deadlines in the next 2-4 weeks]

Travel and Commitments

[Conferences, meetings, or other commitments affecting availability]

Seasonal Planning

[Considerations for upcoming semester, summer, or academic year changes]

Discussion Topics for Meeting

Strategic Decisions Needed

  1. [Decision about research direction or priorities]
  2. [Decision about collaborations or opportunities]
  3. [Decision about resource allocation]

Feedback Requested

  • [Specific work or analysis for review]
  • [Career planning or strategic advice needed]
  • [Input on proposals or presentations]

Lab/Administrative Issues

[Any lab operations, policy, or administrative matters to discuss]

Action Items

For You

  • [ ] [Specific action item with deadline]
  • [ ] [Specific action item with deadline]
  • [ ] [Specific action item with deadline]

For PI/Supervisor

  • [ ] [What you need from your supervisor]
  • [ ] [Decisions or approvals needed]

For Follow-up

  • [ ] [Items to revisit in future meetings]
  • [ ] [Long-term planning items]

Meeting Notes (to be filled during/after meeting): [Space for notes from PI meeting, decisions made, guidance received]

Next Meeting: [Date and any special agenda items]